Tarbes

Tarbes, town, capital of Hautes-Pyrénées département, Midi-Pyrénéesrégion, southwestern France. It lies on the left bank of the Adour River, which descends from the Pyrenees into a fertile plain.

Town hall of Tarbes, France.

Florent Pécassou

After the Roman occupation, when it was a town of considerable importance, Tarbes was seized for a time by the Arabs. In the 10th century it became the capital of the ancient countship of Bigorre, and it was captured by the English during the Hundred Years’ War (1337–1453). It suffered greatly in the Wars of Religion in the late 16th century. In 1814 the duke of Wellington, in command of British forces, won a battle against the French near the town.

A small 14th-century Gothic cloister has been transferred from the ruined Abbey of Saint-Severand-de-Rustan and rebuilt in the Jardin Massey, a park. Marshal Ferdinand Foch and the poet Théophile Gautier were natives of Tarbes.

Tarbes’s industries, which developed after the coming of the railways, include electrical and mechanical engineering plants and an aircraft works. Tarbes also serves as a commercial and administrative centre for the département. It is well known as a centre for the breeding of Anglo-Arabian horses. Pop. (1999) 46,275; (2005 est.) 45,800.

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